Back In The Saddle

It's good to be tasting wine again after a little hiatus. The last "Vintages" release in Ontario had a highly rated wine from Australia (and I quite like Aussie wines), so I thought it was worth a go. The Elderton, "Friends", Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 opens with conflicting evidence of richness - the cork is pale stained warning me not to expect too much concentration but the initial nose was encouraging - oaky berry spicy. The first half glass was quite enjoyable but as the evening wore on, so did this damn wine. It became nondescript and within a few hours had faded into an average effort. So much for the "mouth filling black cherry, chocolate and cedar" that was promised on the back label - they're kinda right, just expect it in the first five minutes... Whatever you do, don't decant this sucker or let it breathe.
The Verdict: Initially I was gonna give it a good, but it faded to OKAY.
Value: ooops, they goofed on the pricing. At $17.95 this is NOT worth it. Would compete well with a $9.95 entry level Chilean cab.
I do like the label, though. It has a nice quote by Abraham Lincoln on the back - "the better part of one's life consists of his friendships". I agree, but wonder what the hell this has to do with marketing a wine....

cheers!!